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  1. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dillinger
    Did one walk with a limp? Could well be Withnall up there


    the obese fellow who checked in with a much younger man and then dressed him up in a furry costume with horns, saying, “You are heavenly; I have never seen a more beautiful sheep-boy.
    The Voyeur?s Motel - The New Yorker

  2. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23
    Met some Pinoys on the bus frm Vte to UT. They're teachers in Laos & escaping the madness of Pi Mai (sp?).
    To Thailand???
    Surprise, surprise!

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by stroller
    To Thailand??? Surprise, surprise!
    Get the fuck off a good thread you troll Stroller. You have morphed into pond scum. Seriously. This is a travel thread that is well appreciated.

  4. #29
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    Keep us posted Katie, and yes I'm pretty sure one of them silver foxes you saw was withnall.

  5. #30
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    Yep what he said, Fock of stroller, ya daft coont

  6. #31
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    Thanks to all those who are interested (or bored) enough to read the Adventures of Katie 2016. Lol

    Is withnall American, Aussie or British? I saw 2 silver foxes & asked them for directions back to Central Plaza in UT. I got a little lost since I just walked around, took pics, saw the night market, looked at some clothes & shoes (hey, I'm a girl), but I didn't buy anything. For one, I don't have much space in my backpack. If I suddenly became an "Imelda" (marcos), then it would be tough to bring those shoes in public transport while backpacking!

    The problem with toilets in the provinces is that, more often than not, it's a squat toilet. In PI, most public toilets are of the western kind. Some w/ flusher, some need a bucket for flushing. I don't like squat toilets, as they take more maneuvering. But one must answer the call of nature, whether it's in rural Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam or Thailand!

    Am now in Mae Sot, in a nice, homey guesthouse. I have my own b/r too! I think it's a family-owned GH. I traveled for 12 hrs today, 1 big bus & 2 minibuses. Left my hotel at 6:30 am to catch the 7:30 bus at the other, far bus station. I thought I would be at Mae Sot by 2pm, but at that time, I had just reached Phitsanulok! In P, the big bus was already full, so I was advised to take the minibus to Tak, then take another minibus at Tak to Mae Sot. I don't like minibuses or minivans (based on the horror stories here), but i wanted to be in MS before nightfall as I had a reservation there (and my schedule might be delayed as I made a packed itinerary). All my lodgings were pre-booked bcos I know that it's Songkran & places might be full.

    I passed through countless ricefields, little sleepy towns (nakhon nowhere) while riding a very hot big bus. The a/c didn't work well. I passed by some mountainous roads too. On the way from Tak to MS (in the minibus), I was seated in front, beside the driver. Thus I got good views. Winding roads on mountainous area. The ride reminded me of my trip to the US, while in a friend's car in Maryland. Far stretches of road, with mountains in the distance. The trees & signages are diff, but the feeling was the same. Same-same but diff. I also remembered the song, Take Me Home, Country Road. Was it by John Denver? Can someone put a utube link to that song on this thread? I'm on phone & don't know how to post links frm here.

    Btw, is it gazza(?) said something abt checkpoints from MS to Tak. Yes, there were chkpts, but only cursory glances for our minibus. No ID checks. I think it was bcos all passengers were Thai, except for me. But then, I look Thai. I always get the question: where you from? After answering, I get: Ah, Thai, Philippine, same same.

    Tomorrow, I'll cross the border to Myanmar.
    Last edited by katie23; 12-04-2016 at 10:03 PM.

  7. #32
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    not sure if that works or not...look forward to some photos! :-)

  8. #33
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    the road from Mae Sot to Mae Sariang is sheer HELL< avoid it if u can.

    From Mae Sariang north is good, Tran Lod Caves are cool and outside Soppong

    Myanmar is wonderfulllllllllllllllllll

    Good luck travel in the next few days in Myanmar, many bus's and taxis dont run during Songkran

    IF it was me ( and i have been to both) i would skip Mawlamyine and just go straight to Hpa-An rent a motorcycle for the day and explore the caves, there fantastic. Stay at the Galaxy motel (18,000 kyat for an air con room with ur own toilet) There's some good Chinese restaurants in town and one very good Burmese one
    From there easy trip to Yangon
    Last edited by Phuketrichard; 13-04-2016 at 05:40 PM.
    "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol or insanity, but they've always worked for me" HST

    View my pics

  9. #34
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    I'm now in Mawlamyine. Border crossing was ok, but a bit different frm others. Bcos of Thingyan/ Songkran, many Burmese are crossing the border to go home. I think this morning, I was the first non-Burmese, non-white foreigner who crossed to Myawaddy. The immi officer asked me to go inside the ofc asked some questions. A tout, who was there to "help", asked me abt my visa. I said I didn't need a visa bcos of ASEAN. The officer agreed. He asked questions (how long I will stay, purpose of visit, etc). I was ready for the questions & had the print-outs of my flight out & hotel reservation. The immi officer tried to hit on me, saying I was very beautiful, and said that the other immi officer (the one who stamps) was still single. Lol. He said that I shld visit again bcos I'm very bootiful. (Is one connected to the other? Lol!) Anyway, passport got stamped for 14 days.

  10. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phuketrichard
    the road from Mae Sot to Mae Sariang is sheer HELL< avoid it if u can.
    Bollocks, there are a few tricky bits but the rest is well worth it.

  11. #36
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    Richard, I won't go to Hpa-an anymore. I've seen the town center bcos the driver of.my shared taxi dropped off a.passenger there. If i was traveling w/ friends, I would be.more adventurous & explore caves or the countryside. However, I'm traveling alone.& I'm a girl, so when alone, I tend to stick to the city center for safety. I don't want to be a Hannah W. (Frm the Koh Tao murders). I've also heard.of a horror story frm a female Canadian nurse
    She was my bus seatmate in Cambodia & she was harassed by a tuktuk driver in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, she was able to get out of that sticky situation safely. That's one of the dangers that female travelers face, whether she's "bootiful" or not.

    More updates nxt time. Btw, I update here.&.my family as well, just so they won't worry. - katie frm fone, pardon the typos

  12. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23
    I'm very bootiful
    Thought that might be the case

  13. #38
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    A mag 6.9 earthquake struck Myanmar last night. It was in the north & I didnt feel it. Or maybe i felt it, but didnt know that it was an eq

    I dont know what time.it happened, as.Bbc & other news outlets that I've seen didnt put the time of the eq. I dont.know if it was the slight dizziness that i felt last night. I was brishing my teeth & preparing for bed, when i felt a bit dizzy
    But then i thought maybe its vertigo or just the effect of the long drive. I arrived at my hotel at 6:30 pm & got back frm dinner past 9. So I'm not sure. A friend sent a msg on Skype asking if I was ok bcos she read abt the eq &.knows that I'm traveling here.

    Can someone pls put a link of the Eq? The one w/ lots of details? The bbc article was incomplete of details

    Duke & Duchess of Cambridge are traveling in India, in the part near the Eq,.i think. Bbc said their party is safe. It said that the quake was felt in Yangon.

  14. #39

  15. #40
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    A 6.9 magnitude earthquake has struck Burma, with tremors being felt as far away as India.
    The US Geological Survey recorded the epicentre 46 miles south-east of Mawlaik, at a depth of around 80 miles.
    Phil Hughes, who works in the country's second-largest city of Mandalay, told The Independent that he felt shaking for around a minute but was unhurt.
    "Everything seems normal where I am," he adding, saying he had seen no damage.


    There were scenes of panic in Yangon after the quake struck, according to witnesses, but authorities there said there were no immediate reports of injuries.
    An Associated Press journalist who was in one of the city's hospitals at the time said the seven-story building shook strongly twice, for at least a minute.
    Many people in the hospital, including patients, staff and visitors, ran out of the building and began calling their loved ones.
    Aung Thu, who was taking care of his elder brother, said: “I was sleeping on my bed when suddenly I felt the ground shaking. The first time it was intense, but the second time it was lighter."
    He said he was on the third floor of the Shwegonedine Specialist Center hospital, and as soon as he felt the quake he called his wife and son to tell them to be “prepared for the worst.”
    The quake, centered in the jungle and hills northwest of Mandalay, hit at 2.55pm BST - 8.25pm local time.
    Strong tremors were felt in India's eastern city of Guwahati and other areas of Assam near where the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge are visiting during their royal tour.



    “We felt the tremor very strongly, but all is fine,” said British Deputy High Commissioner Scott Furssedonn-Wood, who was staying in the same jungle resort as the royal couple.
    In Assam's capital, Gauhati, people rushed outdoors as they felt strong tremors and buildings swaying, while a failure at a power station caused outages in several parts of the state.
    People also reported feeling shaking West Bengal, Tripura and in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, 300 miles from the epicentre.
    Burma is affected by seismic activity in the Himalayas caused by the continuing collision between the Indian and Eurasian continental plates.
    The USGS calls the area “one of the most seismically hazardous regions on earth” because of the numerous earthquakes generated.
    Several fault-lines run through Burma, which has seen several major earthquakes and deadly landslides in recent decade

  16. #41
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    A strong earthquake has struck Myanmar, the US Geological Survey reports, with shaking felt across the region.
    The 6.9 magnitude quake took place at a depth of around 140km (87 miles), north-west of Mandalay. There were no initial reports of any fatalities.
    The tremor could be felt in the north-east Indian state of Assam, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are staying.
    The royal couple, who are staying in a national park, were unharmed.
    People in Myanmar's main city, Yangon, in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, and in Kolkata in India fled buildings in panic when the tremor struck.
    Tremors are relatively common in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). This earthquake occurred at intermediate depth, according to the USGS, which means it took place within the Indian tectonic plate as it subducts beneath Eurasia.
    While such earthquakes may be felt at the Earth's surface, they are less likely to cause severe damage.
    An Associated Press news agency reporter in Yangon reported seeing a seven-storey hospital shake during Wednesday's two-minute quake, causing staff and patients to flee the building.
    Many of Myanmar's outlying areas have inadequate communications and infrastructure, including the area where the earthquake hit.
    The Chinese official Xinhua news agency said strong tremors were also felt in Tibet, with many residents of Lhasa drawn out on the streets.
    Shaking was experienced in the Assam capital Guwahati, where wall-mounted television sets at a local TV station were reported to have been sent crashing to the ground.



    The British royal party have been visiting Assam's Kaziranga National Park.
    "We felt the tremor very strongly, but all is fine,'' British Deputy High Commissioner Scott Furssedonn-Wood, who is staying in the same jungle resort as the royal couple, was quoted by AP as saying.
    The royal couple are spending Wednesday night in the park and will travel to neighbouring Bhutan on Thursday.
    An earthquake measuring 6.7 magnitude hit north-east India in January, near its borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, killing at least nine people.
    In March 2011, at least 75 people died when a powerful earthquake hit Myanmar near the borders with Laos and Thailand.

  17. #42
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    YANGON, Myanmar - A strong earthquake struck Myanmar on Wednesday night and was felt in parts of eastern India and Bangladesh, causing residents to rush out of their homes in panic. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.The magnitude-6.9 quake struck at a depth of 135 kilometers (84 miles), 396 kilometers (246 miles) north of Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
    Residents in Myanmar's main city of Yangon panicked after the quake struck, but authorities there said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
    An Associated Press journalist who was in a hospital in Yangon at the time of the quake said the six-story building shook strongly twice, for at least a minute. Many people in the hospital, including patients, staff and visitors, ran out of the building and began calling their loved ones.
    "I was sleeping on my bed when suddenly I felt the ground shaking. The first time it was intense, but the second time it was lighter," said Aung Thu, 25, who has been spending nights at the hospital to take care of his elder brother. "I had experienced this kind of earthquakes before, so I was not that scared. But I was concerned because my brother is ill, and I need to take care of him."
    He said he was on the third floor of the Shwegonedine Specialist Center hospital, and as soon as he felt the quake he called his wife and son to tell them to be "prepared for the worst."
    The quake was centered in the jungle and hills around 220 kilometers (137 miles) northwest of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city. While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures.
    The tremors were felt in the eastern Indian states of Assam and West Bengal, including in the area of Assam's Kaziranga National Park, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are visiting during their royal tour of India.
    "We felt the tremor very strongly, but all is fine," said British Deputy High Commissioner Scott Furssedonn-Wood, who was staying in the same 12-cottage jungle resort as the royal couple.
    The royal couple are spending the night in the park area, and are scheduled to leave for neighboring Bhutan on Thursday.
    A failure at a power station in eastern Assam caused outages in several parts of the state.
    In Assam's capital, Gauhati, people rushed outdoors as they felt strong tremors and buildings swaying. Cellphone services were disrupted, and wall-mounted television sets crashed to the ground at a local TV station. Police said they were still assessing the situation.
    Residents in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, ran out of their homes in panic as the earthquake hit the region, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
    Villagers in Tusom, near the Indian state of Manipur's border with Myanmar, said the earthquake felt weaker than the magnitude-6.7 quake that rattled the region on Jan 4, killing eight people and damaging about 2,000 homes. Wednesday's quake was also felt in Manipur's capital of Imphal.
    People also reported feeling the quake in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, 484 kilometers (300 miles) from the epicenter.

  18. #43
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    ^ thnx for that. I just got back to hotel frm brkfast outside. Was invited to brkfast by the taxi driver & his wife. The wife works in Bkk & he went yday to pick up his wife & get other passengers, me included. The driver speaks English well & was a good guide too, as he pointed out impt sites along the way. I think I paid the foreigner price (30 usd), which ia 3x what the locals paid. But it was ok, since i had the prime seat.in front & not cramped in the back. I also got good views & many pics. He also answered.many of my questions & asked some questions of me too, abt culture, work, food etc

    He said I'm lucky bcos i was able to see many townships (he brought ppl to their homes & i was able to see some villages). I also said that he's lucky bcos I'm his first Filipino & Asean passenger. His previous foreign passengers were all westerners. I said Myanmar is not really toured by Pinoys yet, bcos of visa restrictions before. And if ever they come, they fly in to Yangon & not by land thru Myawaddy. I gave them some Phil currency & they were very glad. They are good ppl & honest workers. He is an electrical engineer bytraininf but now drives a taxi

    They have 3 kids: 1 is studying in Japan, 1 is in uni, the last is 10 y.o. I met the 2 last children. The uni student speaks good English too. The mom cant speak English but is veey kind hearted & motherly. I was very thankful after the brkfast &.mini tour. I said that if ever I visit Myanmar again, I will try to visit.or contact them again. They're good ppl.& I think they were also happy to have a Filipino guest, as I was the first. I said that both of us were lucky.

    In my travels, i have been fortunate to always meet good ppl, like the French girl in Cambodia who helped me out. So I try to give back to other travelers too.

    .

  19. #44
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    Upper class Brit

    British Deputy High Commissioner Scott Furssedonn-Wood, who is staying in the same jungle resort as the royal couple,


    You just could not make that name up,what a cracker.

  20. #45
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    I am now in Yangon, took the.night bus to get here. Am now staying at a very.nice guesthouse. I have good vibes here. I didn't like the hotel in Mawlamyine (overpriced & low quality). Here in Yangon, i initially booked a bed.in a female dorm. However, they told me that they gave my bed to a large grp. The other available room was a standard room. So i got a free upgrade! I have a double bed, a/c & my own b/r for ~15.usd! And the best thing abt it: western toilet! Super yay! The past days in Myanmar, it's been squat toilet, whether in hotels, restos.or.temples.

    They allowed me to check in.early too (6:30 am) and have breakfast. Great!.

  21. #46
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    Yday in Mawlamyine, I met a nice backpacker couple. And no, they're not soap dodgers. Lol Am typing this while having brekky.

    I went to the reclining buddha temple w/ them; we shared.the ride. The temple is a few km away frm the city ctr. We were all going on the night bus to Yangon later, and we.had time to spare.

    At the temple, the locals wanted to have their pic taken w/ the guy or.girl
    The guy is Swedish, the girl is from Brazil. She's half white/black, and has afro hair. Mawlamyine is a small provincial city & the locals prolly see very few foreigners. It prolly was their first time to see afro hair. So the locals, mostly young ppl.w/ smartphones, all wanted pics w/ the foringgas (or it sounded like that). I told the couple that they were like moviestars! And lamented, how come I don't get the moviestar treatment? (Bcos i look local) Lol! I also told them the story of the.immi officer & his compliments. I said that I felt weird abt it, and didnt know if I should feel flattered or harassed.

    So, if you want to get the moviestar treatment,.go to Myanmar, esp to the small cities! As a foringga, you'll be mobbed!
    Last edited by katie23; 15-04-2016 at 08:10 AM.

  22. #47
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    ....So, if you want to get the moviestar treatment,.go to Myanmar, esp to the small cities! As a foringga, you'll be mobbed!...

    Funny; i have been to many places that get less than 5 tourist a month in the past year and have never been mobbed.
    last months trip down the chindwin saw ZERO tourists in 7 days

  23. #48
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    ^maybe you're not moviestar material?! Lol

    Kidding aside, I saw very few foringgas in Mawlamyine. Two brit-sounding guys (in my hotel), another white backpacker couple, S&B, the swedish-brazilian couple, a solo guy on same bus, a solo blonde girl walking on the street. All of them, except the brits, were backpacker types. Maybe the young locals like to mob young foringgas only? The swedish guy, who's been in myanmar for more than a month (girl followed few weeks later), said that he's used to being mobbed.

  24. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23
    She's half white/black

    .....

  25. #50
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    ^lol on that

    Not quite. You have to look for a better pic, stroller. One w/ darker skin & afro hair.

    Got some pics of girls doing traditional dances on stage, but got totally drenched in the process. They built a stage near the Sule Pagoda & there were overhead water sprinklers. It was fun for a short while, but I was afraid for my camera, phone & other stuff in my handbag, so I left shortly afterwards & am now back in GH. Everywhere, there's loud.music & young ppl on trucks going around, wet & pouring water too.

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